Chinewalker
Fleet Admiral
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2001
- Messages
- 8,902
Had a bit of a learning experience this summer. I bought a very clean relatively new (to me) OMC steel 6-gallon gas tank at a garage sale this spring. For $20 I thought I was getting a steal! I splashed a pint of gas into it and left it in the sun to pressurize - no leaks at the fitting or cap. Perfect! I filled it up with fresh fuel mix and threw it in my family boat. A few weeks ago I finally got to use it. All was well for the first while, but then the motor died. Sounded like it had run out of fuel. I squeezed the bulb but it wouldn't draw. Switched to my other tank and got us home.
This past weekend I had a chance to take a look at the tank and removed the fuel connector fitting bit. Turns out the pickup tube was split! About 4-inches long, right down the side of the tube! The motor had run fine until the fuel level had dropped below where the split had started.
I replaced the entire fitting assembly with one I'd saved from a rusted tank and it now works fine again. So, if you have a motor running issue where it doesn't want to draw fuel, but the tank seemed "fine" the other day, take a look at the pickup tube!
This past weekend I had a chance to take a look at the tank and removed the fuel connector fitting bit. Turns out the pickup tube was split! About 4-inches long, right down the side of the tube! The motor had run fine until the fuel level had dropped below where the split had started.
I replaced the entire fitting assembly with one I'd saved from a rusted tank and it now works fine again. So, if you have a motor running issue where it doesn't want to draw fuel, but the tank seemed "fine" the other day, take a look at the pickup tube!